In Montana, It’s Youth vs. the State in a Landmark Climate Case

So the lawyers at Our Children’s Trust began building their case. They worked with the environmental community to identify potential plaintiffs. They cataloged the ways in which the state was being impacted by climate change. And they documented the state’s extensive support for the fossil fuel industry, which includes permitting, subsidies and favorable regulations.

Our Children’s Trust, which is largely funded by foundations, has sued state governments on behalf of youth in all 50 states, and is behind Juliana v. United States, a closely watched climate case that pits young people against the federal government and is pending in district court in Oregon. But Held v. Montana is the first of these cases to head to trial.

“We’re really trying to bring the youth generation to the courts, and do so through a human rights lens,” said Julia Olson, the attorney who founded Our Children’s Trust.

In 2020, Ms. Olson once again took aim at Montana, this time with a bigger legal team, a raft of experts and 16 diverse plaintiffs, including the Busse boys.

The oldest plaintiff, Rikki Held, was 18 at the time and grew up on a 7,000 acre ranch in Broadus, where increasingly unpredictable weather has made it difficult for her family to supply water to their property. The youngest plaintiff was Nathaniel K., a 2-year-old boy from Montana City with respiratory issues whose health is threatened by wildfires made worse by climate change, his parents say.

Sariel Sandoval was 17 when the case was filed, and grew up on the Flathead Indian Reservation, in northern Montana. She recalled how the huckleberries she once picked early in the summer are now harder to find, and how a lighter snowpack has lowered water levels in Flathead lake, impacting her tribe’s fishing.